BANDARLAPALLE CAVE

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

A vertical cave entrance gives access to a pothole descending 17 m down into a cave chamber with a perennial pool of water and lateral, horizontal cave passages containing speleothems or, to be precise, flowstones deposited by the stream (Perrin 2010.02.02 Mss). ETYMOLOGY: No autochthonous name has been identified for this cave christened after the village of Bandarlapalle (Perrin 2010.02.02 Mss; Dar, Perin et al. 2011.02.02 Mss, 2011.02.02 Mss). SITUATION: Somewhere in the vicinity of the village of Bandarlapalle (note 1) and in the middle of quarries currently exploited for construction slabs (Perrin 2010.02.02 Mss), the -Kadapa Slabs- kind of building stone. The GPS position near (unspecified precision error) N14°59'37.3”: 78°04'12.2” (unidentified geodetic datum possibly Everest 1830) forwarded by Dar, Farooq et al. 2011.02.02 Mss) indicates a spot in the level country about 750 m in a direct line approximately south-east of the Nayala Bilamu Temple (note 2) indicated near (±5 m) N14°59'51”: E078°03'54” (Everest 1830) on the Survey of India sheet 57-J/01 (edition 1978). CAVE DESCRIPTION: A shaft descends 17 m vertically down onto a permanent lake fed by an inlet entering from opposite across the lake. A technical crossing of the lake (to stay dry …) gains access to a gallery decorated with flowstones deposited by the stream. Some climbing is required to reach a much flatter part of the cave where much mud and silt are deposited on the ground and on the walls. The stream finds its way across these muddy deposits. On the left side (sic! without direction), an approximately small and meandering conduit connects back to the main gallery. A seasonal streamlet (dry at the time of visit) washes in and deposits rock dust from the quarries at the surface. This meander can be visited on a few metres only but the presence of bats and air flow is interpreted to indicate that this impenetrable meander surely connects to the surface. Following the main passage upstram, one reaches not only thick mud deposits and a sump but also what looks like two conduits (possibly high level continuations) opposite across each other and about 2 m vertically above the level of the water. The shallow, horizontal cave passage, which enters several metres up in the entrance chamber, has formed at a level which currently (January 2010) lies less than 10 m below the bottom of the limestone slab quarry … (Perrin 2010.02.02 Mss). TACKLE: Exploration of this cave needs rope and vertical equipment to tackle the vertical 17 m of the entrance shaft, and specific equipment (Perrin 2010.02.02 Mss) to reach a corresponding pair of unexplored leads which enter the cave 2 m above the water level of the upstream sump.HYDROLOGY: Within the last two years a borehole has been drilled to pump water from the lake at the bottom of the entrance shaft … drainage of a stream (discharge 1 to 2 ltr/s); this stream is seasonal (not heard two years back). … The lake level may increase by 3- m above the observed conditions as indicated by mud deposits on the cave wall (Perrin 2010.02.02 Mss). CAVE POTENTIAL: Perrin (2010.02.02 Mss) believed that there is surely a water flooded conduit (a diving spot?) drowned in the pool at the base of the entrance shaft. Additionally, there are two unexplored continuations opposite across each other and about 2 m above the water level of the upstream sump. Nearby is –>Nela Bilam (Talaricherevu). CAVE LIFE: Jerome Perrin (2010.02.02 Mss) noticed on 4th January 2010 the presence of bats (Chiroptera) in a meander-shaped cave passage. m above the observed conditions as indicated by mud deposits on the cave wall (Perrin 2010.02.02 Mss). CAVE POTENTIAL: Perrin (2010.02.02 Mss) believed that there is surely a water flooded conduit (a diving spot?) drowned in the pool at the base of the entrance shaft. Additionally, there are two unexplored continuations opposite across each other and about 2 m above the water level of the upstream sump. Nearby is –>Nela Bilam (Talaricherevu). CAVE LIFE: Jerome Perrin (2010.02.02 Mss) noticed on 4th January 2010 the presence of bats (Chiroptera) in a meander-shaped cave passage.